Publisher - Gollancz
Publication Date - 8th December 2001
Genre - Urban Fantasy
Source - Purchased
Rating - 3.5 out of 5: I liked it
Book Info - When the walls between Man and Fae come crashing down, freeing the insatiable, immortal Unseelie from their icy prison, MacKayla Lane is caught in a deadly trap. Captured by the Fae Lord Master, she is left with no memory of who or what she is. Clawing her way back from oblivion is only the first step Mac must take down a perilous path, from the battle-filled streets of Dublin to the treacherous politics of an ancient, secret sect, through the tangled lies of men who claim to be her allies into the illusory world of the Fae themselves, where nothing is as it seems - and Mac is forced to face a soul-shattering truth.
My Thoughts - For those of you who've read my reviews of the previous books in this series, you'll know that I have had mixed feelings about it. I loved the first book and felt it was a very promising start to the series, whereas books two and three felt more like fillers. At the start of Dreamfever, I could feel my excitement for the series start to build again. Finally, Mac seemed to be back on her quest for the Sinsar Dubh, whilst battling against all kinds of fae and forming alliances with the people around her in the lead up to what promises to be an amazing showdown. However about three quarters of the way through, the author seemed to lose her way again and I had trouble understanding why the last quarter of the book was even there. Again, it felt purely like something to fill the pages, drawing out the inevitable into more books than this series really needed to be. But, at least most of the book did push the storyline along towards its conclusion, which is an improvement on books two and three.
Again, there are a huge array of supporting characters and I love how none of them seem to be purely good or purely bad. They all have their own agenda and Mac has to really work hard to find out who is on her side and who is working against her. Of course, my favourite out of all the characters is Barrons. The reader still doesn't know much at all about him and this just increases his appeal for me. The hope that I might find out just a little something about him is what has kept me reading this series despite my reservations about it. V'lane, another of my favourite characters, isn't in this book quite so much so I found that slightly disappointing, but I'm sure he'll be back in full force in the final installment in the series.
One of the issues I had with previous books in the series was the author using Mac to constantly make reference to things that happen in the future. I'm sure it was to provide a feeling of suspense, but to me it just made the narrative jerky and kept on distracting me from the things that were happening. But luckily, that doesn't seem to happen all that much in Dreamfever. I'm guessing that's because as we get nearer the end of the series there's not quite so much to talk about.
The one thing that I am liking more and more as the series progresses is Mac, the main character. She starts off in book one as being shallow and selfish and I am enjoying watching her grow as a character. Now she is strong, feisty, always putting the safety of others before her own, and is about to embark on a major showdown between good and evil and, although she's not exactly overjoyed at her role in it all, she knows it is her destiny to fight this battle and she's not going to back down. I love the new edgy and kick-ass Mac.
Summary - Although I do have some reservations about this fourth installment in the Fever series, I did enjoy it a lot more than the previous two books. And I know that after the cliffhanger at the end of Dreamfever I will most definitely be picking up Shadowfever very soon. I am very much looking forward to finding out how this series will end.
Other books in this series:
1. Darkfever
2. Bloodfever
3. Faefever
4. Dreamfever
5. Shadowfever
2 comments:
I used to be an old Karen Marie Moning fan with her Highlander series. But this series has put me off. The Fever series is totally lame compared to the Highlander series. It seemed like Karen Marie Moning lost her mojo in this series and is clinging by her fingertips.
Hmmm, I may have to give her Highlander series a try. I can see that this series has some potential... it just doesn't seem to be reaching it. her other series could be the way to go :)
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